The quantity surveyor and the construction industry THE UK CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY The UK construction industry is a unique, complex and often fragmented industry. Nevertheless, in 2008 the total turnover of the industry was £80 billion or the equivalent of 6% of the UK gross do¬mestic product, making it an important contributor to the wealth of the nation. The industry employs approximately 182,000 contractors, 1.8 million people – a high percentage of which are self-employed – with a ratio of male to female of 7:1. The construction industry is defi ned in accordance with Division 45 of the Revised 2003 Standard Classifi cation to include the following: • General construction and demolition work: establishments en¬gaged in building and civil engineering work not specialised to be classifi ed elsewhere • Construction and repair of buildings: establishments engaged in construction, improvement and repair of both residential and non-residential buildings, including specialists engaged in sections of construction and repair work such as bricklaying and the erection of steel and concrete structures, etc. • Civil engineering: construction of roads, railways, airport run¬ways, bridges, tunnels, pipelines, etc. • Installation of fi xtures and fi ttings: establishments engaged in the installation of fi xtures and fi ttings including; gas fi ttings, plumb-ing, electrical fi xtures and fi ttings, etc. • Building completion work: establishments engaged in work such as painting and decorating, plastering, onsite joinery, etc. Market drivers Demand Demand for construction and civil engineering work can be divided in broad terms into public and private sectors. Public sector work is work for any public authority such as: • Government departments • Public utilities • Universities • The National Health Service, and • Local authorities. Private sector work is for a private owner or organisation or for a private client and includes: • Work carried out by fi rms on their own initiative • Work where the private sector carries out the majority of the risk/ gain. Increasingly, the distance between public and private sectors is disappearing with the introduction of strategies such as the Private Finance Initiative, which is included in Chapter 4. Demand for construction is infl uenced by the following factors: • The industry is vulnerable to economic infl uences as witnessed by the downturn in the UK housing sector in 2008. Figure 1.1 illustrates that the last 40 years have seen a number of periods of ‘ boom and bust’ associated with the economic performance of the UK as a whole. The construction industry has regularly been used by government in the recent past as a method of regulating the general economy; for example, by varying interest rates in order to adjust demand for housing • Almost half of all construction works are commissioned by the public sector and therefore cut-backs in public sector spending on projects such as schools, hospitals, roads, etc., can have the effect of cooling down an overheating economy. • Demand can come from a variety of sources, from mega projects, such as the 2012 London Olympic Games to a single-storey kitch¬en extension • A buoyant construction market depends on the availability of reasonable cost credit 1965 1975 1985 1995 2009 Figure 1.1 Construction output – percentage change 1965–2009 (Source: BERR) • Further ways in which the government can manipulate demand are with the use of tax breaks for certain categories of develop-ment, e.g. Enterprise zones were established in various parts of the country in 1982. These zones offer certain types of development; lucrative tax breaks, rapid planning approvals and exemption from business rates • Nearly half the output of the construction industry is in repairs and maintenance, often neglected in times of economic down-turns. Supply The supply side of construction is characterised by the following factors: • Its unique structure. Statistics produced by the BERR indicate that in 2008 there were approximately 182,000 firms working in construction. However, only 120 of these had more than 600 em-ployees, with the greatest majority being small jobbing builders. This structure makes it diffi cult to introduce new initiatives and working practices to increase productivity and/or effi ciency. It is generally only the larger organisations that have the time and resources to try to bring about change • About 1.5% of construction fi rms account for approximately 60% of the workload. The UK structure is not unique and is replicated, for example, in Australia and North America • During the past thirty years or so there has been less reliance on traditional construction trade skills such as bricklaying and plastering. Instead there has been a move towards an assembly process; for example, the extensive use of timber kits for low and medium-rise structures • The early 1960s witnessed a movement towards the use of in-dustrialised buildings; that is, buildings constructed from mass produced, factory made components assembled on site. The object was to reduce the amount of skilled expensive labour in the con-struction process, thereby reducing costs and increasing profi ts and, by 1966, this accounted for 25% of all social housing starts. However, industrialised building tends to be infl exible. Cases such as the Roman Point disaster of 1968 (when without warning a high-rise block of system-built flats partially collapsed) turned public opinion away from this type of approach • The time lag between the response to supply to an increased demand will nearly always result in a distortion of the market. For example, increased house building in response to increased demand, triggered by lower interest rates and full employment • With a standing housing stock of 25 million units, in addition to offi ce buildings, shops, etc., repair and maintenance are also an important part of the construction industry. THE BUILDING TEAM In addition to construction fi rms, architects, surveyors and allied professions are involved in the concept, design, finance and manage-ment of the construction process. Sir Harold Emerson remarked in the Emerson Report in 1964 that: ‘In no other important industry is the responsibility for the design so far removed from the responsi¬bilities of production.’ What is more, unlike other major industries such as car manufacturing or aerospace, construction activity is carried out: • In the open air exposed to the elements • At various locations with each project, to some degree being bespoke, unlike a standard model of car or computer. These factors have contributed to some of the problems that the industry has experienced, during the past 50 years or so where the construction industry has been confi ned to a mere assembly process, with little input from the contractor. These characteristics have led to claims that the industry is ineffi cient and wasteful and that clients have historically received a bad deal and poor value for money, with projects being delivered late and over budget. The construction supply chain The construction supply chain is comprised of the network of orga-nisations involved in the different processes and activities which produce the materials, components and services that come together to design, procure and deliver a building. Figure 1.2 illustrates part of a typical construction supply chain; although in reality many more sub-contractors could be involved. The problems for process control and improvement that the tradi¬tional supply chain approach produces are related to: • The various organisations which come together for a specifi c project; at the end of which they disband to form new supply chains • Communicating data, knowledge and design solutions across the organisations that make up the supply chain • Stimulating and accumulating improvement in processes that cross the organisational borders • Achieving goals and objectives across the supply chain, and • Stimulating and accumulating improvement inside an organisa-tion that only exists for the duration of a project. Information flow, orders, schedules, etc. Material flow, supplies, production, deliveries Figure 1.2 Typical construction supply chain Latham and Egan Reports The Latham (1994) and Egan (1998) Reports were the last of a series of reports that tried to analyse the workings of the UK construction industry and suggest ways in which it could become more effi cient and deliver better value for money. The principal messages from the reports were that the construction industry needed to concentrate and invest in: • Modernisation • Innovation, and • Mass-production. The role of professional institutions There are a number of professional institutions for building profes-sionals, namely, but not in any particular order: • The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors – RICS • The Royal Institute of British Architects – RIBA • The Institution of Civil Engineers – ICE • The Institution of Structural Engineers – MIStructE • Chartered Institute of Building – CIOB • The Clerk of Works Association • The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers – CIBSE. Each of the above organisations has developed over time to regu¬late and further the aims of its members. Corporate membership is generally either at member or fellow grade and members must pay substantial annual fees in order to use designatory letters after their names. The main reasons for the establishment of the professional bodies are to: • Safeguard the public; for example, by ensuring that all members working in private practice have adequate professional indemnity insurance • Enforce codes of conduct • Lobby governments, and • Train and educate. The quantity surveyor Prior to the Napoleonic Wars, Britain, in common with its conti nental neighbours, had a construction industry based on separate trades. This system still exists in France as ‘lots sépare’, and variations of it can be found throughout Europe, including in Germany. The sys¬tem works like this: instead of the multi-traded main contractor that operates in the UK, each trade is tendered for, and subsequently en¬gaged separately under, the coordination of a project manager. The Napoleonic Wars, however, brought change and nowhere more so than in Britain – the only large European state that Napoleon failed to invade or occupy. The government of the day was obliged to construct barracks to house the huge garrisons of soldiers who were then being transported across the English Channel. As the need for the army barracks was so urgent and the time to prepare drawings, specifi cations, etc. was so short, the contracts were let on a ‘settle¬ment by fair valuation based on measurement after completion of the works’. This meant that constructors were given the opportunity and encouragement to innovate and to problem solve – something that was progres sively withdrawn from them in the years that followed. The same need for haste, coupled with the sheer magnitude of the individ ual projects, led to many contracts being let to a single builder or group of tradesmen ‘contracting in gross’, and the general contrac¬tor was born. When peace was made the Offi ce of Works and Public Buildings, which had been increasingly concerned with the high cost of measurement and fair value procurement – in particular, in the construction of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle – decided that enough was enough. In 1828 separate trades contracting was discon¬tinued for public works in England in favour of contracting in gross. The following years saw contracting in gross (general contracting) rise to dominate, and with this development the role of the builder as an innovator, problem-solver and design team member was stifl ed to the point where contractors operating in the UK system were reduced to simple executors of the works and instructions (although in Scotland the separate trades system survived until the early 1970s). Then in 1834 archi tects decided that they wished to divorce them-selves from surveyors and establish the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), exclusively for architects. The grounds for this great schism were that architects wished to distance themselves from surveyors and their perceived ‘obnoxious commercial interest in construction’. The events of 1834 were also responsible for the birth of another UK phenomenon, the quantity surveyor. For the next 150 or so years the UK construction industry continued to develop along the lines outlined above, and consequently by the third quarter of the twentieth century the industry was characterised by: • Powerful professions carrying out work on comparatively gener¬ous fee scales • Contrac tors devoid of the capability to analyse and refi ne design solutions • Forms of contract that made the industry one of the most litigious in Europe, and • Procurement systems based upon competition and selection by lowest price rather than value for money. Some within the industry had serious concerns about procurement routes and documentation, the forms of contract in use leading to excess costs, suboptimal building quality and time delays, and the adversarial and confl ict-ridden relationships between the various parties. A series of government-sponsored reports (Simon, 1944; Emmerson, 1962; Banwell, 1964) attempted to stimulate debate about construction industry practice, but with little effect. It was not just the UK construction industry that was obsessed with navel-gazing during the last quarter of the twentieth century; quantity surveyors had also been busy penning numerous reports into the future prospects for their profession, all produced either di¬rectly by, or on behalf of, The Royal Institution of Chartered Survey¬ors. The most notable of which were: • The Future Role of the Quantity Surveyor (RICS, 1971) was the product of a questionnaire sent to all fi rms in private practice together with a limited number of public sector organisations. The report paints a picture of a world where the quantity sur¬veyor was primarily a producer of bills of quantities; indeed, the report comes to the conclusion that the distinct competence of the quantity surveyor of the 1970s was measurement – a view, it should be added, still shared by many today. In addition, com¬petitive single stage tendering was the norm, as was the practice of receiving most work via the patron age of an architect. It was a profession where design and construct projects were rare, and quantity surveyors were discouraged from forming multidisci¬plinary practices and encour aged to adhere to the scale of fees charges. The report observes that clients were becoming more in¬formed, but there was little advice about how quantity surveyors were to meet this challenge • The Future Role of the Chartered Quantity Surveyor (RICS, 1983) • Quantity Surveying 2000 – The Future Role of the Chartered Quantity Surveyor (RICS, 1991) • The Challenge for Change: QS Think Tank (RICS, 1998). A mere 25 years after the original report, the 1998 report was drafted in a business climate driven by information technol ogy, where quan¬tities generation is a low-cost activity and the client base is de¬manding that surveyors demonstrate added value. In particular, medium-sized quantity surveying firms (i.e. between 10 and 250 employees) were singled out by this latest report to be under par¬ticular pressure owing to: o competing with large practices’ multiple disciplines and greater specialist knowledge base o attracting and retaining a high-quality workforce o achieving a return on the necessary investment in IT, and o competing with the small firms with low overheads. Interestingly, The Challenge for Change report also predicts that the distinc tion between contracting and professional service organisa-tions will blur – a quantum leap from the 1960s, when chartered surveyors were forced to resign from their institution if they worked for contracting organisations! The trend for mergers and acquisitions continues, although it has to be said not without its problems, with the largest quantity surveying fi rms developing into providers of broad business solutions. The profession A quantity surveyor may choose to work in any number of different fi elds. However, principally these can be divided into: • Private practice, often referred now to as project management, and • Commercial management or contracting surveying. Private practice. The conventional model for quantity surveying fi rms in private practice is to trade as a sole practitioner or as a partnership. A surveyor who is a partner in a partnership is jointly and severally liable for all debts and liabilities of the partnership and liable to the full extent of their personal wealth for the debts of the business. However, in 2001 the Limited Liability Partnership Act made limited liability partnerships (LLPs) available to any ‘two or more persons associated for carrying on a lawful business with a view to profi t’. This followed on from the RICS’s decision in 1986 to remove the restrictions on limited liability. The arguments for the introduction of LLPs are: • The general partnership, which had existed since the Partnership Act of 1890, was no longer an appropriate vehicle for modern fi rms and for their businesses • Unlike a partnership, an LLP is a separate legal entity. Although some LLPs call their members ‘partners’, they are not partners in a partnership; their legal title is ‘members of an LLP’ • The primary purpose of an LLP is to provide additional protection for the members through limited liability; a member will not be per-sonally liable for acts and defaults of a fellow member. However, he or she may still be personally liable for his or her own negligence. Commercial management. Commercial management is generally meant to be managing the contractual and commercial aspects of projects for the supply side of the industry. Many commercial manag¬ers are members of the CIOB and the RICS. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) The RICS was founded in 1868 and today there are approximately 130,000 members operating in over 140 countries of which approxi-mately 35,000 are quantity surveyors. The key roles of the RICS are to: • Regulate and promote the profession • Maintain the highest educational and professional standards • Protect clients and consumers through a strict code of ethics • Provide impartial advice, analysis and guidance. Training and education Until the 1960s the principal route to becoming a quantity surveyor was to follow a course on either a full or part-time basis (some of these courses were really tests of attrition, which involved attending evening classes for three hours a night, four nights a week for several years, and fi nally sitting the examinations for either the RICS or the Institute of Quantity Surveyors (IQS). These examinations had a fearsome reputa-tion with approximately only 35% of all candidates being successful each year. However, during the 1960s the fi rst Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) degree and diploma courses in surveying were offered at universities and other institutions of higher education. These granted exemption from the majority of the professional insti-tutes’ examinations. In 1982 the RICS and IQS merged – as a result, the IQS ceased to exist. With the transition from examinations set by the RICS to degrees and diplomas, the RICS’s role changed to one of an accrediting body. In 2001 the RICS radically revised its accreditation process and introduced a ‘Partnership’ scheme for selected universities, etc. The aims of the partnership arrangements are to: • Maintain standards • Attract the best entrants to the profession • Promote research • Develop courses in response to the needs of the profession and industry • Improve education/professional links. One of the principal routes to becoming a member of the Royal Insti-tution of Chartered Surveyors is: • By obtaining a fi rst degree awarded by an RICS partnership uni-versity. In the UK there are a number of higher education establish-ments that offer 3, or 4 years in the case of Scotland, degree courses • On completion of the fi rst degree, the graduate then typically gains employment in a private practice or contractor’s organisa¬tion with a structured training framework. After a minimum of two years of work experience the candidate applies to take the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) • The purpose of the APC is to ensure that those applying for RICS membership are competent to practice. It is structured to provide a number of pathways to cover nineteen different areas of practice. The APC for quantity surveyors covers a number of mandatory, core and optional competencies such as: o commercial management of construction or design economics o contract practice o construction technology and environmental services o procurement and tendering o project fi nancial control o quantifi cation and costing of construction studies • If successful, the candidate may apply for membership of the RICS (MRICS). Approximately half of all entrants to the surveying pro¬fession come via this route. Corporate membership is at two levels; members and fellows. In 2002 RICS raised the standards for its fellowship award to refl ect career achievements. Normally only MRICS members with a minimum of fi ve years service who are major achievers will now be considered. In addition to the fi rst degree route, in recent years a number of other routes have become very popular. These are: • Cognate and non-cognate degree courses available in full-time, part-time and distance learning modes. These courses are typi¬cally 2–3 years in duration and have been developed to attract candidates who already have a first degree in a related (cognate) or unrelated (non-cognate) subject area. These courses are inten¬sive but have proved to be very popular with almost 25% of all entrants to surveying now coming from this route • Masters degrees (MSc). There are a number of second degree courses both full-, part-time and distance learning, that are recognised by the RICS for entry to the institution and enrolment to take the APC • In addition to the above routes into the profession, the RICS en-courages entry from non-traditional routes and many higher edu-cation establishments retain a number of places for candidates who do not have any of the above traditional qualifi cations • High National Diplomas and Certifi cates in a cognate area with passes at a high level are also recognised as an entry qualifi cation to an RICS fi rst degree course at advanced level. Tech RICS. For many years the RICS has been promoting a ‘two tier’ profession, the lower technical tier being provided by technicians or Tech RICS. One of the routes leading to Tech RICS is through the completion of the College of Estate Management’s Diploma in Sur-veying Practice. Entry to the course is typically: • ‘A’ Level at grade C or above in a relevant subject • HNC/HND in relevant subjects (merits and distinctions recog¬nised in the fi nal award) • A relevant professional qualifi cation or at least 10 years’ relevant experience in the property and construction profession with evi-dence of 5 years’ appropriate structured learning (Level 1 module exemption only). Tech RICS can be a route to full corporate membership of the RICS. Continuing professional development and lifelong learning Since 1984 continuing professional development (CPD) has been man-datory for all corporate members and is a process by which practicing surveyors can keep pace with the latest professional standards and practices whilst monitoring current levels of knowledge. CPD can be grouped into four main categories: • Professional work-based activities • Personal activities outside work • Courses, seminars and conferences, and • Self-directed and informal learning. Lifelong learning is defi ned as: ‘a learning activity undertaken through life with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and com¬petence within a personal and/or employer-related perspective. It is seen as a key element of CPD and an important tool in maintaining a person’s employability in a rapidly changing business environment.’ In addition to the quantity surveyor, other professionals are involved in the design and the delivery of a construction project, collectively they are called the design team: Project manager The role of the project manager is one that has emerged over the past 30 years or so. Latterly, the term ‘project manager’ has been used to refer to a quantity surveyor working for the client side in private practice, and the term ‘quantity surveyor’ is used to refer to a quantity surveyor working for a contracting organisation. This is by no means universal, especially outside the UK where the term ‘quantity surveyor’ is more universally used to describe the quantity surveyor irrespective of where or for whom they work. Thus, in the UK it is possible for a private prac¬tice to supply both quantity surveying and project management services for the same project and client. Project managers may be drawn from all building professionals with the appropriate training and expertise. The project manager therefore represents the client’s interests from the initial inception to the completion and commissioning of a project. For the client, the main advantage of using a project manag¬er is the establishment of a single point of contact. The client simply communicates with the project manager instead of having to decide which of the design team may have an answer to a particular query. Training and qualifi cations for project managers are generally at post graduate level, typically MSc. Architect the start of a new project. So much so, that traditional single-stage tendering is sometimes referred to still as ‘architect-led tendering’. Until recently, it was usual for the majority of a quantity surveyor’s work to come via the architect. This has changed to some extent with quantity surveyors and other members of the design team winning work in their own right. Perhaps the most diffi cult part of the archi¬tect’s role is to interpret a client’s user requirements and transform them into a building. Architects can also act as contract administra¬tors, although increasingly this role is being taken over by others. Un¬like the rest of Europe most architects work within private practice, with a few working for contractors or developer. The UK is home to some of the largest fi rms of commercial architects in the world. The work of architects infl uences every aspect of our built environ-ment, from the design of energy effi cient buildings to the integration of new buildings in sensitive contexts. Architects work closely with other members of the construction industry including engineers, builders, sur-veyors, local authority planners and building control offi cers. The Royal Institute of British Architects and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland are the professional institutes for architects in the UK. Building surveyor Building surveying is a comparatively new profession, being a branch of the RICS General Practice section until the 1970s when it became a separate division within the RICS. Key to building surveying is an in-depth knowledge of building pathology, and building survey¬ors can frequently be found working on historic and conservation projects. For smaller new build contracts, building surveyors can also take on the design role and contract administration. Structural engineer A structural engineer is involved in the design and supervision of the construction of all kinds of structures such as houses, theatres, sports stadia, hospitals, bridges, oil rigs, space satellites and offi ce blocks. The central strength of a building lies in the framework, often hidden, that supports the shape and design concept produced by the architects and is integral to the completed project’s function. To the chartered struc-tural engineer, the considerations of strength, shape and function are paramount in their conception of the framework of a structure. Having chosen appropriate materials such as steel, brick, concrete or timber, they then need to design the structure and make all the necessary checks and calculations to ensure that the foundations will be sound, that the fl oors and roof will not fall down, and that the construction as a whole will remain safe and serviceable for the length of its intended lifetime. The specialist skills of a structural engineer will include: cal-culating loads and stresses; investigating the strength of foundations; and analysing the behaviour of beams and columns in steel, concrete or other materials. This procedure should ensure that the structure has the strength required to perform its function safely, economically and with a shape and appearance that is visually satisfying. Civil engineer Civil engineers are involved with the design, development and con-struction in a huge range of projects in the built and natural en¬vironment. Their role is central to ensuring the safe, timely and well-resourced completion of infrastructure projects in many areas, including: highways construction, waste management, coastal devel¬opment and geotechnical engineering. Consulting civil engineers liaise with clients to plan, manage, design and supervise the construction of projects. They work in a number of different settings and, with experience, can run projects as project managers. Within civil engineering, consulting engineers are the designers; contracting engineers turn their plans into reality. Consulting civil engineers provide a wide range of services to clients. During the early stages of a career, work will involve taking respon¬sibility for minor projects; although the size of the projects may in¬crease as experience is gained. Typical work activities include: • Undertaking technical and feasibility studies and site investiga-tions • Developing detailed designs • Assessing the potential risks of specifi c projects, as well as under-taking risk management in specialist roles • Supervising tendering procedures and putting together proposals • Managing, supervising and visiting contractors on site and advis-ing on civil engineering issues • Managing budgets and other project resources • Managing change (as the client may change their mind about the design) and identifying, formalising and notifying relevant par¬ties of changes in the project • Scheduling material and equipment purchases and delivery • Attending public meetings and displays to discuss projects, espe-cially in a senior role • Adopting all relevant requirements around issues such as build¬ing permits, environmental regulations, sanitary design, good manufacturing practices and safety on all work assignments • Ensuring that a project runs smoothly and that the structure is completed on time and within budget • Correcting any project defi ciencies that affect production, qual¬ity and safety requirements prior to fi nal evaluation and project reviews. Infrastructure is the thing that supports our daily life; roads and harbours, railways and airports, hospitals, sports stadiums and schools, access to drinking water and shelter from the weather. In¬frastructure adds to our quality of life, and because it works, we take it for granted. Only when parts of it fail, or are taken away, do we realise its value. In most countries, a civil engineer with have gradu-ated from a post-secondary school with a degree in civil engineer¬ing, which requires a strong background in mathematics, economics and the physical sciences; this degree is typically a four-year degree, though many civil engineers continue on to obtain a masters, engi¬neer, doctoral and post-doctoral degree. In many countries, civil en-gineers are subject to licensure, and often, persons not licensed may not call themselves ‘civil engineers’. Building services engineer Building services engineers are responsible for ensuring the cost- effective and environmentally sound and sustainable design and maintenance of energy using elements in buildings. They have an important role in developing and maintaining buildings and their components, to make the most effective use of natural resources and protect public safety. This includes all equipment and mate¬rials involved with heating, lighting, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical distribution, water supply, sanitation, public health, fi re protection, safety systems, lifts, escalators, façade engineering and even acoustics. While the role increasingly demands a multidisciplinary ap¬proach, building services engineers tend to specialise in one of the following areas: • Electrical engineering • Mechanical engineering, and • Public health. Activities will vary according to the specialist area of work and whether the building services engineer is employed by a single or-ganisation or a consultancy, but tasks typically involve: • Advising clients and architects on energy use and conservation in a range of buildings and sites, aiming to minimise the environ¬mental impact and reduce the carbon footprint • Managing and forecasting spend, using whole life cycle costing techniques, ensuring that work is kept to budget • Developing and negotiating project contracts and agreeing these with clients, if working in consultancy, and putting out tenders • Attending a range of project groups and technical meetings • Working with detailed diagrams, plans and drawings • Using specialist computer-aided design (CAD) software and other resources to design all the systems required for the project • Designing site-specifi c equipment as required • Commissioning, organising and assessing the work of contractors • Overseeing and supervising the installation of building systems and specifying maintenance and operating procedures • Monitoring building systems and processes • Facilities management • Ensuring that the design and maintenance of building systems meets legislative and health and safety requirements. The professional institution for building services engineers is the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. There are a variety of grades of membership depending on qualifi cations and experience. The clerk of works The clerk of works is the architect’s representative on site and usu¬ally a tradesman with many years practical experience. • 1882 – formed as ‘ The Clerk of Works Association’ • 1903 – Renamed the ‘Incorporated Clerks of Works Association of Great Britain’ • 1947 – Became ‘ The Institute of Clerks of Works Great Britain Incorporated’. The job title ‘clerk of works’ is believed to derive from the thirteenth century when ‘clerics’ in holy orders were accepted as being more literate than their fellows, and were left to plan and supervise the ‘works’ associated with the erection of churches and other religious property. By the nineteenth century the role had expanded to cover the majority of building works, and the clerk of works was drawn from experienced tradesmen who had wide knowledge and under¬standing of the building process. The clerk of works, historically as well as now, is a very isolated profession on site, most easily associated with the idiom ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’. The clerk of works is the person who must en¬sure quality of both materials and workmanship and, to this end, must be absolutely impartial and independent in any decisions and judgements. They cannot normally, by virtue of the quality role, be employed by the contractor – only the client, and normally by the ar-chitect on behalf of the client. Their role is not to judge, but simply to report (through exhaustive and detailed diary notes) all occurrences that are relevant to the role. Experience in the many facets of the building trade is essential and, in general terms, most practitioners will have ‘come from the tools’ in the first place. When originally formed, the Association was to allow those who were required to operate in isolation on site a central organisation to look after the interests of their chosen profession; be it through association with other professional bodies, educational means or simply through social intercourse amongst their own peers and con¬temporaries. Essential to this – as the Association expanded – was the development of a central body that could lobby Parliament in relation to their profession, and the quality issues that it stands for. Although the means of construction, the training of individuals, and the way in which individuals are employed have changed dra¬matically over the past 120 years, the principles for which the As¬sociation was originally formed remain sacrosanct. Site manager/agent The site manager, often referred to as an agent, is the person in charge of a building contract and, as such, must be aware of and in control of all aspects of site operations, including the planning of site progress. It is the manager/agent who has responsibility for both the profi tability of operations and adherence to the agreed construction and cost plans. Site managers/agents are employed by building and construction companies, civil engineering fi rms and contractors. Typical work activities include: • Attending regular site meetings with professionals, including quantity surveyors, building services engineers, foremen, subcon-tractors, and the client who has commissioned the building • Maintaining strict quality control procedures – this necessitates regular testing of materials, visual inspections of work, and fre-quent tours of the site • Conducting regular site safety checks • Ensuring the project runs to schedule and to budget, and finding solu¬tions to problems that may cause delays, i.e. late arrival of materials. Recent graduates are unlikely to take on a full site manager/agent role until the necessary site engineering experience is gained. However, the period of apprenticeship or training in the role of site engineer appears to be shortening, with fi rms forced to promote graduates earlier. Training and education The CIOB offers a qualifi cations framework for trainee and practicing site managers/agents. Progression is normally to contracts manage-ment or project management. A number of site managers/agents are self-employed.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 08:34:57 +0000
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